Stanford Soccer Player Katie Meyer Died By Suicide At 22

Stanford star soccer player, Katie Meyer, was found dead on-campus residence on March 1, just months before graduating. Her parents confirmed that the young athlete died from suicide.

“She died by suicide,” said Gina Meyer, Katie Meyer’s mother, told Today. “The last couple days are like a parent’s worst nightmare and you don’t wake up from it. So it’s just horrific.”

The Meyers believe their daughter’s death came after the university possibly scheduled “a trial” over Katie “defending a teammate on campus over an incident.”

They said that Katie had received an email about disciplinary action she may be facing from the school.

“We have not seen that email yet,” Gina Meyer said. “She had been getting letters for a couple of months. This letter was kind of the final letter that there was going to be a trial or some kind of something. This is the only thing that we can come up with that triggered something.”

Stanford said in a statement that “we are not able to share information about confidential student disciplinary matters. We as a university community continue to grieve with Katie’s family and cherish our memories of her.”

As a freshman goalie, Katie made national headlines in 2019 as a crucial part of Stanford’s championship-winning women’s soccer team. She became an inspiration to her teammates and the Stanford sports faculty throughout her career.

“Her friends describe her as a larger-than-life team player in all her pursuits, from choosing an academic discipline she said ‘changed my perspective on the world and the very important challenges that we need to work together to overcome’ to the passion she brought to the Cardinal women’s soccer program and to women’s sports in general,” said a letter from university Vice Provost Susie Brubaker-Cole and Athletic Director Bernard Muir shared with students and on the Stanford website.